Sunday, November 14, 2010

Mixed Bag For MAAC Men's Openers

News and notes from the first weekend of MAAC men's action in which conference teams put up a 4-9 overall record against non-league opponents ...

SIENA'S 38-game home-court winning streak, the second longest active nationally, is no longer. The Saints dropped an 80-76 decision to visiting Vermont before a crowd 0f 8,047 at the Times Union Center in Albany. Siena center Ryan Rossiter, the MAAC's Preseason Player of the Year, had game-high totals of 27 points and 10 rebounds, but the Saints were outbattled on the boards by a 44-30 margin.

The contest was the head coaching debut of Mitch Buonaguro with Siena. Buonaguro had been the team's lead assistant for the past five seasons under Fran McCaffery.

Siena did rally fromn 14 points down with 4:28 remaiining to pull within 78-76 with 12 seconds left, but when forced to foul it fouled one of the Catamount's best free-throw shooters, who hit both with five seconds left.

"I'm sad that the streak got broken, but we're still a team that needs work," said Buonaguro. "This really isn't unexpected. This is still a fragile, young team."...

The league's other first-year head coach, IONA'S Tim Cluess, is off to an 0-3 start after playing in the World of Vision Classic in Cleveland. Two of the three losses came in the closing seconds with the Gaels losing a lead in both.

Iona lost, 73-72, to Kent State in its opener, after holding a 72-69 lead with 1:07 remaining. It then lost, 78-68, to Cleveland State and finished with a 74-72 setback against Bryant after holding a 72-68 edge with 36 seconds left.

FAIRFIELD, the preseason choice to win the conference crown, opened with a 62-45 victory over Sacred Heart. Sophomore guards Derek Needham and Colin Nickerson led the way with 13 and 11 points, respectively. Senior forward Greg Nero, who missed last season with a back injury, had six points and four rebounds in 16 minutes off the bench...

SAINT PETER'S showed itself to be offensively challenged without preseason all-league selection guard Wes Jenkins, who has been cleared to begin practicing after suffering a preseason knee injury, but is not yet ready to play. The Peacocks scored just 30 points in a 55-30 setback against Robert Morris. Senior guard Nick Leon had 13 points for St. Peter's, but no other Peacock scored more than four ...

LOYOLA dropped its opener, a 75-72 decision against Drexel. Senior guard Jamal Barney, who led the MAAC in scoring in 2008-09, had a game-high 21 points in 35 minutes of action for the Greyhounds...

CANISIUS split a pair of games over the weekend, opening strongly with a win over St. Bonaventure, 80-70, in a battle of Western New York schools. Julius Coles, a senior forward, led the way with 21, while Gaby Belardo, a transfer from South Florida, made his Golden Griffin's debut with 19 points. The Griffs then lost an 86-67 contest to Syracuse on Sunday, but only trailed by three points at halftime. Senior forward Greg Loggins led the Griffs with 17 points against the Orangemen ...

RIDER split two games this weekend, losing, 77-67, at UMass and, then, knocking off Lafayette, 80-73. The Broncs held a 21-point lead in the first half against the Minutemen before being outscored 53-22 after the break. Senior forward Mike Ringold led Rider with 21 points and nine rebounds in that game. Senior guard Justin Robinson had 18 points and five assists in the victory ...

MANHATTAN got a superlative effort from its young, emerging backcourt to open with a 75-70 victory over NJIT. Freshman guard Mike Alvarado had 23 points for the Jaspers, while sophomore George Beamon added 15 points and 11 rebounds. Senior forward Andrew Gabriel chipped in with 19 points...